3621 W MacArthur Blvd Suite 107 Santa Ana, CA 92704
Toll Free – (844)-500-1351 Local – (714)-604-1416 Fax – (714)-907-1115

The West must do more to prevent the war in Ukraine from prolonging

Rent Computer Hardware You Need, When You Need It

As the world began recovering from a global pandemic and a broken supply chain, the bloody conflict between Ukraine and Russia broke out. This war has so far claimed the lives of over two thousand Ukrainian civilians, including children.  The million-dollar question still remains: what is the role of the U.S. and its allies to prevent more bloodshed?

At some point, the international support, attention, and assistance will dry up, leaving Ukraine in chaos, just like Afghanistan, Syria, and other war-torn countries. Therefore, the biggest priority for the U.S. and its allies should prevent this war from prolonging and ensure that Ukraine does not fall into the hands of Russia. A longer war means millions more will become nationless.

The Ukrainians have resisted the Kremlin’s intrusion so far, however, the situation remains dire. The United Nations has estimated that about three million have fled Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion. The international community is making preparations to meet their humanitarian needs, but this has not been easy.

What makes the humanitarian crisis even worse is the presence of non-Ukrainian refugees in Ukraine facing displacement again.  Not too long ago, millions of Afghans were displaced as a result of the botched withdrawal of the U.S. troops and the Taliban takeover, some of whom sought refuge in Ukraine. They had lost everything before, and now, they have to walk thousands of miles hoping another country would give them refuge. Unfortunately, European nations are stretched thin to ensure the health and safety of the influx of refugees. But settling the refugees will not resolve the bigger problem: countless numbers of people have lost their homes, loved ones, and livelihood as a result of this invasion.

Economic pressure and pressure from key Russian oligarchs will be what ends this war. A few oligarchs have already criticized the war, as well as top NHL star and vocal Putin supporter Alexander Ovechkin. Biden’s sanctions have only frozen the assets of several Russian oligarchs this far. However, some of Russia’s richest men including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich have not been sanctioned yet by the Biden Administration (though the EU has done so).

The Biden administration must pursue every economic sanction at its disposal to squeeze Russia so that it cannot afford this war. This war is costly for Putin, costing about $20 billion a day for Russia. In other words, in  2.5 months, Russia would spend its entire GDP on this war.

Unfortunately, Ukraine might not have 2.5 months.

Banning all Russian banks from using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) would be the most effective in causing a total collapse of the Russian economy. SWIFT is a messaging tool for global finance that allows banks to send information about cross-border transactions to make international trade flow smoothly. Banning all Russian banks from SWIFT would mean banks could no longer communicate about energy resource transactions, hampering Russia’s ability to trade its key resources and cutting off Russia’s main method of funding its horrific war.

The second option for President Biden is to end America’s tax treaty with Russia. Russia is one of 58 countries the U.S. has a tax treaty with, and the treaties make it easier and cheaper for businesses to invest in other countries by preventing double taxation in both countries. Under the treaty, any tax an American business pays in Russia gets a tax credit to reduce its U.S. taxes.

However, in times of war, the U.S. does not want its businesses investing and conducting business in Russia. America’s tax treaty with Russia helps prop up the Russian economy and subsidizes Putin’s war in Ukraine by making it less costly for Americans to do business and earn income in Russia.

Under the treaty’s terms, the U.S. can end the treaty unilaterally, and Biden should end the treaty to make it harder for American businesses to do business in Russia. With lots of American businesses already divesting from Russia, ending the tax treaty would likely speed up the divestment and indirectly target sectors not already covered by Biden’s sanctions and the ones refusing to divest.

Related Articles


Harris keeps on flopping in the spotlight


This megadrought’s dry years to come


Ron Paul’s warnings about big government and war continue to prove true


UC legislation exposed Capitol’s bad habits


Tax hikers reach new low in search for reasons to repeal Proposition 13

Freezing and possibly seizing the assets of all of Russia’s wealthiest individuals unless they condemn the war and demand Putin stops his invasion of Ukraine would put even more pressure on Putin to end the war because he would be losing the support of Russia’s most influential people and his most important supporters.

Putin is losing the support of his inner circle already, and the U.S. has a duty to help ensure he loses all the support of Russia’s most important people. This and ramping up economic sanctions would help end the war faster. Evidently, Putin and the Russian government have lost all of their credibility and Ukrainians have shown heroism that will be talked about forever.

Tahmineh Dehbozorgi is a columnist for Southern California News Group and a student at George Washington University Law School. Travis Nix (@tnix113) is a Young Voices contributor and a student at Georgetown Law School. 

Generated by Feedzy